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Are you keeping any toys/books for grandchildren?

53 replies

Oneborneverydecade · 10/04/2023 16:19

And if so how do you chose what to save? Obviously space will determine a lot of what, if anything, people hang onto but beyond that...
Our eldest and youngest are 12 years apart, despite that I have things all three have played with. It's hard to say goodbye but we need to declutter.

OP posts:
Mosaic123 · 10/04/2023 16:24

Oh yes, and we have none yet. Lego (mixed pieces only - no sets), Brio train tracks and trains and my favourite kids books that were still in decent condition.

In the box of Lego, along with Lego from the early 1990s, are red and white pieces that were mine from the mid 1960s. Fantastic stuff.

lljkk · 10/04/2023 16:34

A box of plastic animals/cars & some fave books is all.
I reckoned plastic (eg Lego) would degrade and I'd want to buy new or better when they day came (if it ever comes).

frozendaisy · 10/04/2023 16:38

God no.

Might not have grandkids firstly.
Would rather release stuff back out into the wild to prevent unnecessary additional resources being used.

Plus our kids would never have played with my old toys.

StillMedusa · 10/04/2023 16:38

Lego... we have lego that's mine , and lego from my children. Same with books.
I'm now reading those stories to my Grandson (he's too little for Lego yet)
I wish I'd kept all of my Action Men!! (I wasn't a girly kid Grin)

The Lego is in a huge storage tub in the attic, but the books have never left my shelves :)

familyissues12345 · 10/04/2023 16:39

We've saved back some wooden brio train set, some matchbox cars, a couple of games/puzzles and books. Saved not only for grandchildren, but we've recently gained a new nephew so it's toys for him to play with when he's a bit older.

BertieBotts · 10/04/2023 16:43

I try not to keep stuff that will need to be stored for more than a couple of years. I can be a bit of a hoarder and tend to feel like it will save money and have sentimental value, but really, my kids have Brio that has been through my cousin, my half siblings and all three of my children (two of whom have a 10 year age gap). None of it was played with by my sister or I when we were little because our Brio was a totally different set, but it's still nostalgic and familiar to play with the Brio that we have. So when they lose interest in it, I will pass it back to my aunt and if I have grandchildren one day, I'll pick up a job lot of secondhand wooden train track.

Some plastic toys can get brittle and stop working when they are stored. Really old electrical items never seem to work either. We were passed down a Fisher Price electric, singing, teething toy that by my reckoning is about 12-15 years old, my 1yo was playing it one day and I realised that the rubbery part was all crumbling into pieces causing a serious choking hazard. And if you have old vintage plastic toys from the 80s or earlier, you should really check whether that company was using heavy metals in its plastics before guidelines were tightened up in the 90s and 00s. Many of them are no longer advised to play with.

My aunt kept clothes from my cousin and tried to pass them to my stepmother for my half siblings and they were 15/20 years old by this point and my stepmum privately said that while it was kind, they all looked naff because the style of children's clothes had changed. We don't tend to think of children's clothing as following fashion, but it does to an extent and something from 15+ years ago will look noticeably dated. Even stuff like what characters are popular changes over time. And clothing can also go bad in storage - I sold some pyjamas that my eldest had outgrown on Vinted and was mortified when the buyer informed me that the elastic in the waistband had perished. They were probably ten years old. I hadn't thought to test the elastic when I was packaging them up.

I've decided to keep a couple of sentimental items in a memory box, the rest will go to a donation place so that people can use them while they still have life in them. Toys deserve to be played with, not stored in a box for decades. I have realised that if I miss something later and it was something that was mass-produced, it's highly likely that I can get hold of a second hand copy anyway. I've managed to get copies of favourite childhood books this way for my children to read, and the nostalgia is just as good even though it's not literally the same copy.

The space in your home has value as well, and storing things attracts dust, sometimes insects/spiders to nest in the dust and the dark crevices of stuff that never gets moved, and mould. It's also much much easier to keep our home tidier and it feels much nicer without piles of old stored stuff everywhere.

I keep things between DS2 and DS3 who only have 3 years between them. I don't keep clothing between DS1 and DS2. I keep books (because we live abroad and English books are hard to get) but I don't usually keep games and toys, unless the age span is so large that I think DS2 will be interested in them within a year or two.

Oneborneverydecade · 10/04/2023 16:53

Both my Ils and DPs kept things from when I/my DH were little and the grandchildren have played with them. Nothing electrical or battery operated though.
I think that Playmobil, Dulpo and Brio should all survive the years. We have a wicker dolls pram but I'm not sure if wicker will last? I think part of my rational is knowing that I paid a lot and the resell value will be low, but that's not a good reason.
We're lucky to have a garage but even then I need to be careful not to hoard stuff. I have a lot of clothes in boxes I'll struggle to part with

OP posts:
timtam23 · 10/04/2023 17:02

I have kept the Brio train track and train set as so much of it was bought as presents. I've also kept the push-along wooden trolley with bricks as it was mine from the 1970s, it also has a little wooden rocking crib which sits on top of the trolley to turn it into a pram. I loved it so much as a child and can't bear to give it away, as it's wooden it won't deteriorate although it's not the most compact thing to store. I've also kept my dolls' house and all its furniture from the 1970s/80s, I spent hours and hours playing with and decorating the dolls house so again I couldn't quite bear to get rid of it. There are a few books as well, I've tried to be more ruthless with the books but there are a few special or now out of print ones which I've kept. I've also kept the hand-knitted Shetland lace baby shawl my mum knitted before I was born, I'm worried it'll be eaten by moths but it's got too many family memories knitted into it to be given away

Mosaic123 · 10/04/2023 17:04

Put the shawl in a sealed plastic bag. Moth proof.

GettingStuffed · 10/04/2023 17:04

I think DH has a load in the loft. They already have books,and baby toys

GreenMarigold · 10/04/2023 17:08

I’ve got about 10 books from my childhood that my children have enjoyed and I would like to keep for any future grandchildren.

Also a doll’s house and a beautiful rocking horse that was a gift from family. It is huge though so I’m not sure where I’ll be able to keep it.

We’ve also got board games from my childhood. If they survive my children I will keep those too!

I am very sentimental ❤️

Saltired · 10/04/2023 17:11

I’ve held on to a few sentimental bits and pieces.

The main thing being a few hand knitted cardigans, a shawl each, and a blanket each. They are all sentimental as were knitted by family members. Some were even hand me downs from when my partner and I were babies. There is a total of about 8 items, so not ridiculous amounts.

My daughter also plays with my original baby born so I’m going to keep that. It looks to be in really good condition despite being nearly 30 years old. She has her own one but prefers mine.

My daughter plays with her dads old Lego so we will keep that too.

Thats probably about it tbh.

purpledagger · 10/04/2023 17:11

i had a relative who kept toys for the grandchildren. It was a great trip down memory lane, sorting through our childhood toys, but certainly not worth the 20+ years in storage as the grandchildren were barely interested in playing with them.

take this toy telephone for example;

www.theforgottentoyshop.co.uk/products/fisher-price-classics-chatter-telephone

very popular when i was a child, but the grandchildren had never seen phones like this, so just weren't interested.

By all means, keep a few bits, but it's not worth keeping much.

mathanxiety · 10/04/2023 17:16

Lots of books, a set of wooden blocks, Lincoln Logs.

I kept books that were in good condition, mainly hardbacks. The blocks and Lincoln Logs set are intact sets.

RegainingTheWill2023 · 10/04/2023 17:17

I have some boxes of things I think of as being fairly timeless like Duplo, playmobil, Schleich models and some younger children's books and a few soft toys.

SingingSands · 10/04/2023 17:19

Yes! Have kept books and the quality, timeless pieces that can be played with like Lego, Playmobil, Happy Land and Sylvanian Families.

If I don't get any grandchildren I'll be tempted to just play with them myself 😄

LouLou198 · 10/04/2023 17:22

Just a few things that will last. A beautiful wooden dolls house (which I secretly bought for me anyway!), Lego and playmobil.

spiderlight · 10/04/2023 17:24

Yes - Lego, Brio, and a huge collection of toy cars with a garage, car park etc, which 16-year-old DS will not hear of parting with 🙄

RuthW · 10/04/2023 17:24

A lot of dd's toys were my toys. I've kept most of mine and everything she really liked for grandchildren. Unfortunately I don't think I will ever have any.

spiderlight · 10/04/2023 17:25

Oh, and a big box of books - a mix of our and his favourites.

hoochycrone · 10/04/2023 17:26

Duplo (been a lifesaver!) Brio, playmobil. Lego train set. Kept in boxes in the garage when they're not around.

Saltired · 10/04/2023 17:27

purpledagger · 10/04/2023 17:11

i had a relative who kept toys for the grandchildren. It was a great trip down memory lane, sorting through our childhood toys, but certainly not worth the 20+ years in storage as the grandchildren were barely interested in playing with them.

take this toy telephone for example;

www.theforgottentoyshop.co.uk/products/fisher-price-classics-chatter-telephone

very popular when i was a child, but the grandchildren had never seen phones like this, so just weren't interested.

By all means, keep a few bits, but it's not worth keeping much.

Fisher price still sell that phone - or at least did in 2015ish.

JustKeepSlimming · 10/04/2023 17:28

I'm keeping Lego, mainly so I can play with it myself. Might also keep some wooden train tracks as they're fairly durable and should survive storage.

Other than that, I mainly pass things on. DH would keep everything "just in case", but I don't see the point - would rather the things were used while they're still in good condition.

saraclara · 10/04/2023 17:34

I kept all the Lego, Duplo and playmobil, and a dolls pram. Much of it has now come down from the loft, and my DGD plays with it, as will her little sister in time.
What I wish I'd saved is the Fisher Price stuff of the time (mid to late 80s). The things I saved are still available and of the same quality, but today's FP toddler toys are very much inferior to the ones my kids played with. I managed to buy a favourite from eBay, and it turned out to be a favourite with DGD, as well, which was very satisfying.

Fizbosshoes · 10/04/2023 17:37

My parents kept lots of things for my DC , cot, blankets, high chair, moses basket, lego, books, board games and lots of other toys. It helped that I barely played with lego so they had complete sets with instructions 30 years later!

It was nice that my DC played with the same things but I haven't done the same. Clearing out my parents house after they died, full of all sorts that thry kept "just in case" (including all mine and siblings school books) was unimaginably stressful, albeit more so because of lockdown, and I felt prolonged/intensified the grieving process.
I'm not at all minimalist but I if something is not played with, or grown out of, it gets sold or passed onDDi want the shelf or cupboard space for current things, and we barely use our loft. DD sold all of her sylvanians (a lot of which were 2nd hand when I bought them for her) for nearly £90.